Margaret Lyberger

Margaret Cameron Ingmire Lyberger 94 of Lawrence died on Saturday, October 26, 2013. She was born a twin to Merle Ernest Kit and Zona V. Cameron Ingmire June 7, 1919 on a farm onequarter of a mile east of Dearing. She attended the Dearing School through the tenth grade and graduated from Field Kindley High School in 1937. She attended Coffeyville Junior College one year, then began work at Orvil W. Carters in 1938. In 1942 she began work at Strasburgers Mens Wear as bookkeeper.

She married James M. Lyberger May 21, 1943 at the Methodist Parsonage in Coffeyville. This was when James was on leave from the Naval Station in Virginia and during the big flood of 1943. His train was the last one that arrived in Coffeyville and was at the time the Coffeyville Airbase did not let their workers leave the base during the flood.

Margaret joined her husband in 1944 while he was stationed with the Seabees in Port Hueneme, California. While in California, Margaret worked for the Federal Public Housing Authority at Oxnard. After her husbands discharge in December, 1945, they returned to Coffeyville. She then worked as the bookkeeper at Columbia Drug for six months.

James worked at the Coop Refinery until he died in 1967. After her husbands death, she went to work in 1969 as a secretary at the Southeast Kansas Area VoTech School and retired from there in 1984.

While in high school, she played in the summer league of Coffeyville softball. She was a member of and active in the First United Methodist Church and the Keystone Class, a lifetime member of PTA, former member of the Friendship Club and Coffeyville Chapter AARP, and had worked with Girl Scouts, Blue Birds and Boy Scouts. In 1990, she worked with the Federal Census. She moved to Lawrence in 1996.

While their children were still living at home, Margarets brother, Bernard Ingmire, planted sweet corn on his farm and, in the summer, the family would harvest, sell and deliver the sweet corn to Coffeyville residents. Also, there was a patch of strawberries which yielded 400 quarts of strawberries each season that the family picked, sold and delivered to Coffeyville residents. If you are old enough, you may have been a customer. After her husbands death, the family picked this patch of strawberries one season, then that summer the drought killed the patch and Margaret said, Thank you God for killing this patch of strawberries so we dont have to pick anymore. The money gleaned from these sales was the childrens yearly allowance. At Christmas time Margaret made peanut brittle, pecan delights, and peanut clusters which she sold. While her children were young, she was superintendent of the Nursery Department at the First United Methodist Church.

After she retired, she taught herself quilting by watching quilting shows on TV and made quilts for her family. Each grandchild received a quilt upon graduation from high school. She was a seamstress, quilter, gardener, baby sitter, church and school volunteer.

Margaret is survived by two sons, Ronald of Brookline, Massachusetts, Len of Palos Verdes Estates, California, two daughters, Shirley Lyberger and Carol Acheson, of Lawrence, one grandson, Ryan Acheson of Lawrence and five granddaughters, Lauren Acheson of Lawrence, Kelsey and Taylor Lyberger of Palos Verdes Estates, California, and twins, Sarah and Julia Lyberger of Brookline, Massachusetts.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, a sister, Roberta Ingmire, her twin brother, Merle Ingmire, who was killed in WWII, and a brother, Bernard Ingmire.

Services will be held at FordWulfBruns Funeral Chapel in Coffeyville, Kansas at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 2, 2013. Family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. before the service. Friends may also call on Friday, November 1, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the funeral home to sign the guest register.

The family would welcome memorials to the First United Methodist Church, Coffeyville, the Dearing Christian Church, Dearing, Kansas, or the Douglas County Visiting Nurses organization in Lawrence, Kansas these may be left with the funeral home.